Apparatus for assembling nuts and bolts



July 8, 1941. C. T lylL'jLvpNy- 2,248,183

APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING NUTS AND BOLTS w L =,'"""z l." "1 1 5 6@ W L, i f` 67 67 65 i July s, 1941. C, T .MULVANY 2,248,183 1 APPARATUS FOR ASSEMLING NUTS AND BOLTS Filed Sept. 13, 1940 2 Sheets-Shag?, 2

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Patented July 8, 1941 APPARATUS Fort SSEM'LING N'` BQLTS j .Application .September 13, SerialiN 14 Claims.' (Cl.'"10-""15 '5) The invention relates to a ,machine forassembling nuts and bolts, and has forl its principal object the provision of an apparatus of'fthis character which Wil-l be simple in construction, comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and operate, and more efficient in use than those which have been heretofore proposed.

With the above and other objectsY in view, which Will appear as the description proceeds; the invention consists essential-ly in a reciprocating slide member, preferably although notnecessarily power driven, which slide is recessed for the reception of a nut and is further provided with a substantially semi-cylindrical groove communieating with the recess, said groove in one position of the slide being adapted to register with a complemental groove vformedl in a pivoted spring-pressed rotation imparting memberI to form a cylindrical aperture for the reception and guidance oi the threaded end of a -bolt to a'nut in tlie'recess. As the slide is moved from this position it carries the bolt with it, the spring.- pressed member yielding Afor this purpose andthe engagement betweenr a friction surface provided thereon and the vsurface of the bolt producing rotation of the latter, `which in conjunction with the prevention of rotation of the nut by the walls of the recess, causes the bolt to be threaded-into the nut. Means arealso preferably provided for positively disengaging the bolt from the slide groove as it reaches the end 'of ,the friction surface of the rotation-imparting member, whereby the bolt with the nut threaded thereon Willbe deposited into a suitable chute or receptacle. l.

The invention also includes and has for a further yobject the provision offmeans for automatically feeding the nuts to the slide recess in timed relation to the movements of thev slide. The bolts are or may be fgedfmanuallyzby. the operator. prises a guideway terminating -in iuxtaposition to the slide recess, said guidevva including an inclined portion which may be disposed-at an angle to said terminal portion, incl-ined portionreceives the nuts, one 'at a time, fromy asupply hopper which is oscillatably mounted and arranged to be automatically rocked backend-forth in timed relation to the movemenisof the other operating elements of the machine.n The said hopper is provided with agate for control-ling: the discharge of the nuts therefrom to the guideway; and an automatically loperating feeding member is provided for positively moving the nuts along the terminal portion of the guideway and into the slide recess.

This portion of the invention com- Ilo i Referring tothe accompanying drawings .forming a part of this 'speciiicatiom in which .like reference. characters designate like parts. in all: the vievvsfmh. Figure 1 is a side elevational-.view of one form of apparatus constructedand arranged in accordance With-itlieginvention,A the. parts being illustrated in the positions theyoccupy at the. time an assembled bolt and ,nut have just been. dischareed;

Fig. 2 is an shown in Fig.

teriigure;` l v Fig. ,3, is'atransverse sectional elevational view, taken approximately on the kplane indicated `by `the line: 3.-`3 ,o tf. .lilg,l v31,- 10oking in the direction ofthe"arrows; l j A l Figs is a. top plan `vievvlof the partsjshownin F- 1 .ff I Fig. Slis an enlarged fragmentary plan View of theslide member a dits associated'elements, the partsjbeing illustrated the positions they o ocupyat the time. of'rex'zeiving,ar bolt for assembly with fa', nut., already; positioned in the slide recess 41' i' g .fl6, is an ,lele ational -vievvV of the parts shown .Y f f Fig. 7 is a transversel'sectionalview, taken -apf jlroXirnatelyV onthe plane indicated bythe line '1 -,1. of Fig. 5,; .and

Figi -8 is anen'lar'grd :fragmentary longitudinal .of parts 11,., Vfasseen fromthe left of the latseotionalyiew,illustrating vthe supply .hopperin position to feedY al, nuty yto the inclined' portion'. of the guideway.

In 'the 'said ...drawings the machine is illustrated as Acomprisinga supporting framework I I upon i Whichniay be mounted. an electric motor i2 in /Figures'lland'tojdischarge nuts through the which` by means of a belt'l3 drives ajpulley I4 carried by a Ico1 lntershafrft l5 xjournaled in suitable bearingsfi. I The sjaiz'i.:k shaft Al5 ,carriesa pinion l1meshinglwith aQgearlB carried by a jackshaft l 9` journaled 'in'bearings 2l). .The jackshaft'-`l9arries" a pinion' 2| meshing with a gear V2 2 carieclV ,bygth'e mainshait 23 journaled in bearings .24. j 'IAhe/shiaft 2 3 carries atene end a disk 25 having a crankl pin' 2S which is connected bya linll, toa, bracket 28 .carried by a. supply hop-per- Zfor thenuts., The said hopper is pivotallyl mountedas at 35).` upon theframe members yI if and is adaptedto be oscillated bytheconnections,` just described. between the positions shown tubular extensionpnthroat 3 I tov aninlined chute or. guideway, 3 2falso `carried'by the'frame meniberis ,Ii,.`

The .said extension 3l provider-iV with a pivoted gate member 33 which is normally maintained in the position shown in Figure 1 by a spring 34 which gate member however, as the hopper is moved to discharging position, will engage with a stop member 35 as shown in Figure 8 to be swung to a position in which it will permit the nuts to be discharged into the chute or guideway 32 as will be readily understood from said Figure 8. A spring 36 is preferably associated with the tubular discharge member 3| and the gate member 33 to guide the nuts during the transfer between the members 3| and 32 and prel vent them from jumping out of the chute. The

stop member 35 is pivoted as at 38 between a pair l of ears 39 depending from the frame members Il', which ears are provided with inturned lugs 40 upon which the stop member 35 normally rests. feed of the nuts from the hopper 29, the stop member 35 may be swung in a counter-clockwise ldirection to the broken line position shown in Figure 8, whereupon it will fail to engage the gate member 33 as the hopper reaches the Figure 8 position and the gate will not be tripped to discharge a nut. Y

As will be readily understood from Figs, 1 and 2 the inclined chute or guideway 32 extends longitudinally of the machine, and at substantially the point where it reaches the platform ||a of the framework it communicates with a transverse channel or guideway 42 through which the nuts are fed to the assembling members. y v

These members comprise a slide 45 mounted for reciprocation in suitable guides 46 and movable therein by means of a pitman 41 which is connected to a crank end 48 carried by the gear 22. The under portion of the kouter end of the slide 45 is provided with a recess 50 for receiving nuts from the channel or guideway 42 andthe said slide is also provided with a, vertical groove 5| substantially semi-cylindrical in shape and communicating with the said recess 50. When the slide 45 is retracted to the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6, this groove 5| registers with a complemental groove 52 formed in the member 53 which is pivoted as at 54 to one of the guides 46 for swinging movements in ahorizontal plane. When the two grooves 5| land 52 arethus in reg-` ister they form a cylindrical aperture for the reception of the threaded end of the bolt 55 (see Fig; '1)A which bolt is introduced manually into the said aperture by the operator andY guided by the aperture to the nut which has been received in the recess 50 and retracted by the slide to a position in which its threaded opening alines with the aperture formedby the grooves 5|. and 52,as shown in Fig. 5. Y I.

The member 53 is normally urged towardthe position shown in Fig. 5 by a spring 56, and its inner surface is preferably provided with friction material 51 of rubber, leather, or other suitable composition.- A spring 58 extends beneath the member 53 to assist in positioning the nut accurately with relation to the bolt-receiving aperture.

The inclination of the portion 32 of the guideway is such that the nuts will preferably move down it by gravity, but the portion 42 of the guideway is horizontal and it is necessary to provide means for positively moving the nuts therethrough to the assembling mechanism. Ashere shown, these means comprise the finger 60 pivoted as at 6| to an L-shaped lever.62 which'is pivoted as at 63 to the framework Il. Saldrlever 62 is connected to an arm 54 which is rigidly car- If for any reason it is desired'to stop the' ried by a rock shaft 65 which also carries an arm 6.6 which is connected by a link 61 to the lower end of the lever E8 pivoted as at 69 on the framework, the upper end of which co-acts with a cam 10 carried by the main shaft 23. The parts are so timed that the feeding finger 60 will be moved to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4 as the slide 45 assumes the position shown in the latter gure, so that a nut frorniltlfie,v channel or guideway 42 will be'moved intof-thel'recess 50 of the slide just before the latter begins its return movement `to the bolt receiving position illustrated in Figurek5.

The operation of the machine will be clear from the foregoing, it being understood that when the operator introduces a bolt into the alined ,grooves 5| and 52 to bring its lower threaded end into engagement with the threaded aperture in the nut the slide 45 then moves toward the rightfrom the position shown in Figure 5and by reason of theeng'agement of the friction material 51 with the surface of the bolt rotation is imparted to the latter as it is carried alongthe member 53 the latter yielding as indicatedl` in vbroker'i lines in Fig. 5, whereby the threads of the bolt' willbe caused to engage with the, threads ofthe nut and the two assembled together sufficiently 4to enable them to be handled thereafter a unit. As the slide approaches the positionshown in Fig. 4' the bolt will leave vthe friction material 51 and in most instances will drop by the action of gravity from the groove 5| into a chutevor receptacle vSi) provided A'at the right hand end of the machine. Howevenin order't'o'insure the discharge of the coupled nut and bolt from the slide, a dog 'll is pivoted' as at 12 upon'one 'of theV guides 46, said dog being'normally retracted to the position shown in Fig. '5 by a spring 13. The inner end of thedog vis provided with a curved camming surface 14 which is engageable by a roller or projection 15 carried by: the slide 45 as the latter approaches the Fig, 4 position thereof. This engagement of the roller or projection 15 with the curved surface of the dog will caus'ethe latter to' be lswung from the Fig'.' 5 tothe Fig. 4 position thereof, and inso moving the outer end of the dog will move at least partially across the groove 5| and eifectively dislodge any bolt which may not drop therefrom b y gravity.'

Whileone form of the invention has been illustrated and described' it'is`obvious that those skilled in the `art mayvary the details of construction as well asthe precise arrangement of parts'withoutfdeparting from the spirit ofthe invention and therefore itis not wished to be limited to the above disclosure `except as may be required -by the claims."

What is claimed isf y1. Ina machine for'v assembling nuts and bolts, the combination'of a slide having a recess for receiving and' 'holding a nut against rotation, and a (groove communicating vwith said recess; a member adjacent "said slide'provided with a complement'al groove' which in 'one position ofthe slide regist'ers'fwith thesli'de groove to form an aperture f-or'receiving4 and lguiding a bolt to a nut positioned in said recess, said member also having a surface 'engageabl'e by the bolt to impart'v rotation 'tothe latter"iii/hereby it may be threaded into rthefnut; andfmeans for moving the slide "t'ocausev the jbolt to traverse said surface. 2. The combination statedinv claim 1; wherein the bolt-engaging surface of the rotation-imparting member is provided with a facing of friction material.

3. The combination stated in claim 1, wherein the rotation-imparting member is yieldably mounted for transverse movement relative to the bolt.

4. The combination stated in claim 1, wherein the rotation-imparting member is pivotally mounted for transverse movement relative to the bolt and is pressed into engagement therewith by a spring.

5. In a machine for assembling nuts and bolts, the combination of a slide having a recess for receiving and holding a nut against rotation, said slide also having a groove communicating with said recess; a member adjacent the slide provided with a complemental groove which in one position of the slide registers with the slide groove to form an aperture for receiving and guiding a bolt to a nut positioned in said recess, said member also having a surface engageable by the bolt to impart rotation to the latter, whereby it may be threaded into the nut; means for moving the slide to cause the bolt to traverse said surface; and means for discharging the assembled bolt and nut from the slide.

6. In a machine for assembling nuts and bolts, the combination of a slide having a recess for receiving and holding a nut against rotation, said slide alsohaving a groove communicating with said recess; a member adjacent the slide provided with a complemental groove which in one position of the slide registers With the slide groove to form an aperture for receiving and guiding a bolt to a nut positioned in said recess, said member also having a surface engageable by the bolt to impart rotation to the latter whereby it may be threaded into the nut; means for moving the slide to cause the bolt to traverse said surface; and means actuated by the slide for positively discharging the assembled bolt and nut from the slide groove as the bolt leaves the rotation-imparting surface.

7. In a machine for assembling nuts and bolts, the combination of a slide having a recess for receiving and holding a nut against rotation, said slide also having a groove communicating with said recess; a member adjacent the slide provided with a complemental groove which in one position of the slide registers with the slide groove to form an aperture for receiving and guiding a bolt to a nut positioned in said recess, said member also having a surface engageable by the bolt to impart rotation to the latter whereby it may be threaded into the nut; means for moving the slide to cause the bolt to traverse said surface; and means comprising a pivoted dog for positively discharging the assembled bolt and nut from the slide groove as the bolt leaves the rotation-imparting surface.

8. In a machine for assembling nuts and bolts, the combination of a slide having a recess for receiving and holding a nut against rotation, said slide also having a groove communicating with said recess; a member adjacent the slide provided with a complemental groove which in one position of the slide registers with the slide groove to form an aperture for receiving and guiding a bolt to a nut positioned in said recess, said member also having a surface engageable by the bolt to impart rotation to the latter whereby it may be threaded into the nut; means for moving the slide to cause the bolt to traverse said surface; a dog pivoted for movement transversely of said slide groove whereby it may engage and discharge a bolt from said groove; and a projection on said slide engageable with said dog as the bolt' leaves the rotation-irnparting surface to cause the dog to strike the bolt and discharge it from the slide groove.

9. In a machine for assembling nuts and bolts, the combination of a slide having a recess for receiving and holding a nut against rotation, and a groove communicating with said recess; a member adjacent said slide provided with a complemental groove which in one position of the slide registers with the slide groove to form an aperture for receiving and guiding -a bolt to a nut positioned in said recess, said member also having a surface engageable by the bolt to impart rotation to the latter whereby it may be threaded into the nut; means for moving the slide to cause theV bolt to traverse said surface; and means for auomatically feeding nuts to said recess in timed relation to the movements of said slide.

10. The combination stated in claim 9, wherein the means for feeding the nuts to the recess include a guideway for the nuts and a reciprocating finger for moving them along said guide- Way to the recess.

1l. The combination stated in claim 9, wherein the means for feeding the nuts to the slide recess include a guideway for the nuts; a reciprocating nger for moving them along a portion of said guideway, to the recess; and a movable hopper for intermittently feeding the nuts to said guideway.

12. The combination stated in claim 9, wherein the means for feeding the nuts to the slide recess include a guideway for the nuts; a reciprocating finger for moving them along a portion of said guideway to the recess; and a movable hopper for intermittently feeding the nuts to said guideway, said hopper having a discharge throat and a gate for controlling the discharge of nuts therefrom.

13. The combination stated in claim 9, wherein the means for feeding the nuts to the slide recess comprise a guideway for the nuts having a horizontal portion leading to said recess and an angularly disposed inclined portion communicating with said horizontal portion; a reciprocating finger for moving the nuts intermittently along said horizontal portion to said recess; and a pivoted hopper for intermittently feeding the nuts to said inclined portion.

14. The combination stated in claim 9, wherein the means for feeding the nuts -to the slide recess comprise a guideway for the nuts having a horizontal portion leading to said recess and an angularly disposed inclined portion communicating with said horizontal portion; a reciprocating finger for moving the nuts intermittently along said horizontal portion to said recess; a pivoted hopper for intermittently feeding the nuts to said inclined portion, said hopper having a discharge throat and a spring pressed pivoted gate for controlling the discharge of nuts therefrom; and a stop member engageable by said gate to cause it to release nuts to the inclined portion of said guideway, said stop member being movable to an inoperative position to prevent actuation of the gate when it is desired to cut off the feed of nuts to the guideway,

CLYDE T.y MULVANY. 

